Cod Almighty | Diary

China in your hands, though possibly not Taiwan

3 May 2018

Given that every player who has won our player of the year award in recent seasons has then left the club, I'm hoping the 2017–18 recipient won't be James McKeown.

For whatever reason (and there are plenty – I just haven't got the time or energy to go into them, again) we just don't seem able to hold on to the players we really need. As soon as we get close to something we love, we lose it. The frustrating part is that we seemingly choose to lose it. Releasing Podge after he scored a shedload of goals in one season. What was that all about? When he was on 20 goals in January he was worth a new contract. Then he gets 37 by the summer and suddenly he's not? It's madness.

Packing Shaun off to Wrexham. Giving Hurst his taxi fare to Shrewsbury. After showing so much patience and being rewarded for it, the Grimsby Town board of directors set about systematically tearing up everything they spent so long building, like a child growing bored of their train set.

Your West Yorkshire Diary doesn't profess to know the ins and outs of contract negotiations, but I'm not into playing silly buggers with someone who's more than proved their worth. If there were question marks around Podge's abilities in the Football League then the same questions should've been asked of all the players in the squad who were making the same step-up. That includes the player we eventually sold for a rumoured £1million – and our manager.

If they deserve a new contract then they should get a new contract. if they want silly money then yes, let them leave. One of these days we'll have a youth system that acts as a conveyor belt and we won't have to worry – or look too far – for affordable and talented replacements.

Michael Jolley performed a minor miracle to reverse our slide into oblivion. It's only been a short time, and I haven't forgotten the heavy defeats at Lincoln and Coventry, but I saw enough in one half of football last Saturday to know that this man should be afforded all the patience that was given to Paul Hurst plus whatever reasonable funds he needs to build a squad he can coach.

I'm not talking about extravagant spending. Jolley seems a reasonable person and I'm sure he has reasonable expectations. The thing that excites me most about him, and future seasons with him at the helm, is that he'll look to coach players, and make them better. It's in stark contrast to Slade's approach, which seemed to be: give them a two-year deal and if they aren't very good in their first three games, bench them, drop them from the squad entirely and then go cap in hand to Fenty for funds to bring in a 17th loan striker.

The Grimsby Telegraph has today run a story about where Saturday's match could be won and lost. I haven't read it. I don't know if I'm getting old, cynical or just lazy, but I don't care. I care that the Mariners play well. I care about Max Wright and Harry Clifton, and hope they both start. I care that we don't finish the season on a downer, after the euphoria of last weekend. I've cared for too long, and I've had to dig deep to keep caring. Now that we've secured our survival, I want a week off from caring so deeply. I'm exhausted and I need a break.

The season ended on Saturday. This weekend's trip to Forest Green means little more to me than a summer friendly, when the starting XI and performance will matter far more than the result.